Countertops for bathrooms, kitchens and the like are an important part of any home. These countertops can be made from many different materials such as stone, including marble and granite, tile, or formica, as well as wood and metal. Natural stone, marble or granite is the most desired and the most expensive of these materials. As a result there have been produced man-made materials made to look like stone which are derived of mixtures of resins or cement with the addition of stone chips. These include terrazzo, agglomerates and conglomerates, and cultured or faux marble.
Stone is a natural solid formation of many minerals. There are hundreds of types of stone that have been quarried through the centuries. Quarries are located all over the world. A majority of natural stone comes from Italy, Spain, Turkey, United States, Mexico, China, Taiwan, India, Greece, Canada, France and Brazil. The more familiar natural stone types that are used in construction today are identified in four categories: sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous and man-made.
Sedimentary stone came from organic elements such as glaciers, rivers, wind, oceans and plants. Tiny sedimentary pieces broke off from these elements and accumulated to form rock beds. They were bonded through millions of years of heat and pressure.
Metamorphic stone originates from a natural change from one type of stone to another type through the mixture of heat, pressure, and minerals. The change may be a development of crystalline formation, a texture change, or a color change.
Marble is a recrystallized limestone that formed when the limestone softened from heat and pressure and recrystallized into marble where mineral changes occurred. The main consistency is calcium and dolomite. Marble ranges in many colors and is usually heavily veined and shows lots of grains. Its hardness rates from 2.5 to 5 on the Measure of Hardness (MOH) Scale.
Marble is classified into three categories, as classified by Stone World, an industry magazine:
1. Dolomite: If it has more than 40% magnesium carbonate.
2. Magnesian: If it has between 5% and 40% magnesium carbonate.
3. Calcite: If it has less than 5% magnesium carbonate.
Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic stone that formed from clay, sedimentary rock shale, and sometimes quartz. Slate is very thin and can break easily. It usually has a black, grey or green color.
Serpentine is identified by its marks, which look like the skin of a serpent. Most popular colors are green and brown. Hardness rates from 2.5 to 4 on the MOH scale. Serpentine does not always react well to recrystalization or diamond polishing.
Igneous stones are mainly formed through volcanic material such a magma. Underneath the Earth""s surface, liquid magma cooled and solidified. Mineral gases and liquids penetrated into the stone and created new crystalline formations with various colors.
Granite is primarily made of Quartz (35%), Feldspar (45%), and Potassium. It usually has darker colors and contains very little calcite, if any. Granite has a heavy crystalline and granular appearance with mineral grains. It is very hard material and easier to maintain than marble, yet it is still porous and will stain. There are different types of granite depending on the percentage mix of quartz, mica and feldspar. Black granite is known as an Anorthosite. It contains very little quartz and feldspar and has a different composition than true granite.
Man-made stone is derived of mixtures of resins or cement with the addition of stone chips. These include terrazzo, agglomerates and conglomerates, and cultured or faux marble.
Natural stone is far more expensive than man-made and is in great demand by those who can afford it. Until now, no method has been developed to sell natural stone at prices that are reasonable to the average consumer.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method to package and sell natural stone through high volume stores, such as Home Depot, so that it is available to the average consumer, particularly the do-it-yourself homeowner.
It is a further object of this invention to provide unique packaging for natural stone which protects the stone, so that it can be sold in high volume stores, yet have it well protected from damage.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of selling natural stone to the consumer at prices lower than ever before possible, making it available to the average consumer.
This invention comprises a unique method for the sale of natural stone which includes special packaging and a method of doing business to make the stone available in high volume stores to the average consumer. The method comprises the special packaging of pre-fabricated pieces of stone, such as granite or marble, in boxes which protect the stone from damage in the shipping, handling and sale of the stone, while providing the consumer with a way to see and touch the stone, which is highly desirable, so that the consumer may choose the color and texture of the stone which he or she desires.
The method comprises pre-fabricating the stone at or near the location where it is quarried, into sizes and shapes which are common, and often standard, in household bathrooms and kitchens. This may, or may not, include cut-outs for sinks of various standard size. The pre-fabricated stone is then packaged in a box or carton which is designed to specially protect the stone, especially at the corners where most damage occurs, and shipping the packages to high volume stores, such as Home Depot and the like, for high volume sales. This method brings down the price of the stone to the consumer to very attractive levels, because the cutting of stone today is done by specially trained persons on a custom basis which is very expensive.
Genuine stone slabs, used for countertops or table tops, made of natural stone such as granite, are considered a very high cost luxury item that are only affordable by the affluent, and always custom made to order. Never before has natural stone (granite, marble, etc.) been prefabricated and packaged to allow it to be sold in retail outlets. Applicants"" invention allows the consumer to buy these stone countertops off the shelf.
Applicants have created an assembly line approach to a product that until now has solely been considered xe2x80x9ca custom-made-to-order product,xe2x80x9d that customers would have to wait 6-8 weeks, on average, to have made. Applicants"" slabs are designed for the xe2x80x9cdo-it-yourselfxe2x80x9d home improvement market. The slabs can be installed easily by the lay person in less than one hour. The product comes with instructions in three languages on how to assemble and install.
Applicants have developed the technology for attaching an undermount sink using an industrial strength epoxy, which is included in the package. This has made it a truly xe2x80x9cdo-it-yourselfxe2x80x9d product. In the past, metal clips were needed to hold the sink in place and it was very difficult to install and could be temporary in nature because clips can loosen up and pull out. Sinks normally would need a professional to install, using existing methods.
The unique packaging system developed by Applicants allows for shipping to stores and placement into inventory, easily displayed on shelves, and transported home by customers without breaking, chipping or scratching. Installation has been made easily accomplished by the xe2x80x9cdo-it-yourselfxe2x80x9d customer.
Counters for bathrooms and kitchens made of man-made materials are now sold in prefabricated slabs, but no one has ever sold natural stone in this manner, due to the problems with packaging and the difficulty with cutting it properly. The method will be further explained in more detail by reference to the following drawings.